The Narthex

Parishes & Commandments of the Church Archbishop Edward Weisenberger of Detroit has supposedly told priests to remind Catholics attending Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at one of the four non-parish venues in the Archdiocese where the TLM will at least occasionally be available that those attendees are nevertheless members of some…

What to do with a pet peeve? “Own” it. It’s a peeve, and no more. Take care not to become peevish. On rare occasion, however, a peeve merits pursuit and, once pinned down, even theological examination. Here’s a candidate: the weaselly abuse of “appropriate” and “inappropriate” and “appropriately” and “inappropriately.”…

Two weeks ago I wrote in this space about an unknown British politician claiming his 15 minutes of undeserved fame. Chris Coughlan decided to publicize his offense to the world because his priest publicized at his small parish that Coughlan should not receive Communion. Coughlan was among the small wedge…

State violence is often framed by its authors as education. Time and again we witness presidents, prime ministers, junta bosses, and lesser leaders of nominally government bodies take to the airwaves to announce that a bombing, an invasion, or an assassination is meant to be “a lesson” to the enemy…

Thomas J. Burns reported the number of Catholic marriages -- in which Catholics administer the Sacrament of Matrimony to each other -- in the United States in five-year intervals in a July 5, 2023, report. His numbers were obtained from annual statistics gathered by the Center for Applied Research in…

The latest self-important politician’s tempest in a teacup comes from the land of tea time: England. Over the weekend, an unknown British Parliamentary back-bencher decided to make a name for himself. Chris Coghlan represents Dorking and Horley, a constituency just southwest of London. He’s a member of the Liberal Democrats,…

Count me skeptical about reports on the number of Catholics in the world and in the United States. When Pope Francis died, Reuters and Al Jazeera both reported there were 1.4 billion Catholics world-wide. CBS News reported 1.3 billion. The World Christian Database reported 1.272 billion. The Italian-language Vatican…

Under canon law, a person "who uses physical force…against a Bishop incurs a latae sententiae interdict” (Canon 1370, sec. 2), that is, the penalty is incurred at the moment of the violation and requires no episcopal or judicial declaration. The three bishops of the State of Washington, of the Archdiocese…

Here in Inglewood, and in many areas of greater Los Angeles, we deal with a perplexing urban phenomenon: coyotes, sometimes in packs, prowl about at night and in the early morning. They’re hunting small animals, often rodents and cats. Nobody knows why the coyotes are on the increase, though there’s…

On June 16, the U.S. Supreme Court kicked back Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Harris to the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s real supreme court). SCOTUS told the New York court to reconsider its earlier decision in light of last week’s ruling in Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 18 in United States v. Skrmetti that Tennessee’s ban on gender mutilation for minors is constitutional. In 2023, Tennessee adopted SB1, a law prohibiting gender surgery and use of puberty blockers/hormones on “gender dysphoric” minors. The usual suspects sought to block the law, and…

Politics and hypocrisy are rarely, if ever, parted. Godliness and politics, by contrast, are rarely, if ever, joined, especially not in the country of my birth. These two truisms have perhaps never been on dual display as glaringly as during the first half of June. At the level of political…

While post-pandemic Sunday Mass attendance in the United States has increased, it has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Adoremus asked me to write about whether, post-COVID, parish Masses should still be televised or made available online. My judgment was that, while broadcast Masses help the sick and shut-ins, they have…

A family friend died last year. It fell, in part, to me to sort through his belongings. While helping his widow clean out his desk we found several shoeboxes filled with pills, ointments, powders, and other medications. We also found reams of prescription notes, guidelines for medicine use, doctor’s appointment…

The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday, June 10, to clear a bill (HR 589; linked below) repealing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The FACE Act is a 1994 law (PL 103-259), introduced by then-Senator Ted Kennedy and then-Rep. Chuck Schumer and signed by President Bill Clinton, that…